Linking reasons for parent choice and involvement for minority families in Catholic high schools

Abstract

This chapter discusses parents' reasons for school choice and their relationship to three kinds of parent involvement that are thought to influence student learning. It describes selected psycho-social characteristics of 1070 parents and families of minority students in inner-city Catholic high schools. Church participation, ethnicity and choosing a school for discipline reasons are especially influential on parent involvement. Reasons for choosing a school provide insight into the issue of school choice as it is currently being discussed. The chapter concludes with a discussion about the types of families for whom choice might facilitate or inhibit parent involvement.